Cadent optimizes workforce planning and field decision-making with Cogna

About

Cadent is the UK's largest gas distribution network, serving 11 million homes and 40,000 businesses from Cumbria to North London and the Welsh Borders to East Anglia.

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Challenge

Fragmented data consumed valuable time and slowed operational optimization

As an essential utility network, Cadent navigates a web of priorities — from providing reliable service to exceeding regulatory demands and advancing net-zero goals. To deliver on all fronts, Head of Performance Improvement David Linley focuses on strategic process enhancements that help Cadent's 1,500+ frontline workers operate at their full potential.

A holistic view of field service operations is crucial for this goal. Yet, with shift schedules, absence records, vehicle assignments, and real-time location all tracked across separate systems, getting granular visibility is inherently complex.

Typically, these datasets align perfectly. But natural discrepancies — like GPS signals dropping or data capture being delayed — can occasionally skew the operational picture supervisors rely on to make decisions. To maintain a precise activity overview, they'd spend hours reconciling data across systems — time they'd prefer to invest in coaching teams and visiting field sites.

Comprehensive, integrated operational data would not only free up bandwidth but also help elevate team support and existing processes. "We knew we could uncover more efficiency opportunities within our job completion patterns," highlights Joshua Hayes, Operational Planning and Performance Specialist. "With instant intelligence, we can better coordinate schedules to protect rest time, or assign additional repairs when capacity allows," adds Danny Large, Operational Planning Performance Specialist.

At Cadent's scale, ensuring this level of visibility would require a solution that could automatically correlate millions of scattered data points and use intelligent algorithms to identify hidden operational patterns.

Danny, Joshua, and David had worked with traditional software consultancies before, but their platforms rarely captured gas-specific operational complexities. Plus, rigid development processes and lengthy timelines didn't align with Cadent's pace of change.

Looking for a better alternative, Cadent soon found Cogna. Using their AI build engine, Cogna's team translated Cadent's operational reality into AI-powered software tailored to their existing processes.

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"We knew that additional optimization opportunities existed. But in a system with millions of gigabytes worth of data, spotting them through manual analysis diverted our focus from our key initiatives." — Joshua Hayes, Operational and Performance Specialist

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Solution

Tailored software that streamlines operational oversight and reveals hidden efficiency opportunities

David, Josh, and Danny were instantly impressed by Cogna's collaborative, hands-on approach. "They worked with us to fine-tune our solution exactly the way we wanted it — connecting data, refining algorithms, and ensuring accessibility for everyone. That made all the difference," shares Danny.

In just a few weeks, Cogna's AI-powered software factory built a working solution, fully integrated within Cadent's systems of record and workflows. Every piece of data — from employee names to work events — is now linked to GPS locations, driving patterns, and engine activities based on payroll numbers. If payroll data is unavailable, an advanced algorithm matches engineers to vehicles using self-reported locations and route information.

By unifying millions of data points, this Cogna-built system now serves as a reliable Work Time Anomaly Detector (WTAD). Through its user-friendly interface, David and his teams gain automated visibility into real-time operations, enabling faster, proactive decisions about scheduling and field team coordination.

For example, supervisors can now see at a glance when experienced engineers complete jobs ahead of schedule. "This intelligence has opened up entirely new ways to think about optimization — we can capture opportunities that benefit both our field teams and our service," shares David.

By streamlining manual data analysis, supervisors reclaim valuable time for field site visits, hands-on coaching, and collaborative workflow enhancements — activities that consistently strengthen team performance and advance Cadent's competitive edge.

These efficiency gains are only compounding. Cogna consistently collects feedback from Danny, David, Josh, and their teams through in-app support requests and regular meetings. This information enables them to sharpen WTAD’s capabilities and deliver even more precise intelligence. And thanks to the AI build engine, feature upgrades and algorithmic changes go live quickly, keeping Cadent ahead of regulatory demands, sustainability targets, and customer needs.

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"Working with Cogna gives us deeper operational intelligence quickly and efficiently. We can now uncover hidden optimization opportunities and take action." — David Linley, Head of Performance Improvement at Cadent

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Results

Deep, instant operational insights from Cogna

For Cadent, operational excellence isn't just a business priority — it's foundational. And with Cogna's custom, AI-powered solution, they can empower their 1,500+ field workers through more strategic planning and support.

Danny, David, and Josh now have automated visibility to streamline regulatory compliance, optimize workforce capacity, and dedicate more time to enhancing service and operational standards.

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• 45 mins saved on every manual field activity review
• Deeper activity overview for 1,500 field workers

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The partnership continues to evolve. Their next project is integrating WTAD with another Cogna-built app, the Gas Escape Management dashboard (GEM). The connection will specifically help frontline teams better understand why certain gas escape jobs take longer than others, and implement the right approach.

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"I haven't encountered a single request that Cogna couldn't deliver. With most IT partners, like traditional software consultancies, you eventually hit a wall. Not here." — David Linley, Head of Performance Improvement at Cadent